Category Archives: Playlists

Ever since his thrilling 1994 debut with Mellow Gold, each new Beck album was a genuine pop cultural event, since it was never clear which direction he would follow. Kicking off his career as equal parts noise-prankster, indie folkster, alt-rocker, and ironic rapper, he’s gone to extremes, veering between garishly ironic party music to brooding heartbroken Baroque pop, and this unpredictability is a large part of his charm, since each album was distinct from the one before. That remains true with Guero, his eighth album (sixth if you don’t count 1994’s Stereopathetic Soul Manure and One Foot in the Grave, (which some don’t), but the surprising thing here is that it sounds for all the world like a good, straight-ahead, garden-variety Beck album, which is something he’d never delivered prior to this 2005 release. In many ways…

His excellent work on director Christopher Nolan’s 2008 international blockbuster The Dark Knight, was disqualified for Oscar consideration due to too many cooks (composers) in the kitchen, a handicap that doesn’t apply to Nolan’s 2010 follow-up, Inception. Zimmer’s signature move, a four- to eight-chord round that builds from a subtle breeze to an F5 tornado, serves as the foundation for Inception’s dizzying score, and the addition of Smiths/Cribs guitarist Johnny Marr, who appears on eight of the twelve cuts, dutifully expands the layers of Zimmer’s melodies, much like the dream building that occurs onscreen. It’s beautiful and heroic, unhinged and unspeakably melancholy, and the finest and most fully realized soundtrack this prolific composer has crafted to date. -All Music Guide

“The Game Has Changed” is the name of one of the tracks on Daft Punk’s score to Tron: Legacy, and it also fits Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo’s music for the film. When it was announced that the duo would score the sequel to one of sci-fi’s most visionary movies, it seemed like the perfect fit: Their sleek, neon-tipped, playful aesthetic springs from their love of late-‘70s and early-‘80s pop culture artifacts like Tron. However, Tron: Legacy takes a much darker, more serious approach than the original film and Daft Punk follows suit, delivering soaring and ominous pieces that sound more like modern classical music than any laser tag-meets-roller disco fantasies fans may have had. “Derezzed”’s filter-disco and “End of the Line,” evoke ‘80s video games. – All Music Guide

Jack White leaves such an indelible stamp on any project he touches that a solo album from him almost seems unnecessary: nobody has ever told him what to do. He’s a rock & roll auteur, bending other artists to fit his will, leading bands even when he’s purportedly no more than a drummer, always enjoying dictating the fashion by placing restrictions on himself. And so it is on Blunderbuss, his first official solo album, arriving five years after the White Stripes’ last but seeming much sooner given White’s constant flurry of activity with the Raconteurs, Dead Weather, Third Man Records, and countless productions. -All Music Guide

This month we have a “Summer of Love” book and CD display in the Arts Division and thought it would be fun to put together a playlist with the same theme…and as always, all selections are available to check out or place on hold at your Rochester and Monroe County Library. I can just smell the patchouli!

A companion piece to the luminous Workingman’s Dead, American Beautyis an even stronger document of the Grateful Dead’s return to their musical roots. Sporting a more full-bodied and intricate sound than its predecessor thanks to the addition of subtle electric textures, the record is also more representative of the group as a collective unit, allowing for stunning contributions from Phil Lesh (the poignant opener, “Box of Rain”) and Bob Weir (“Sugar Magnolia”); at the top of his game as well is Jerry Garcia, who delivers the superb “Friend…

A recent article in Billboard magazine entitled “Gay & R: Marketing, music and the LGBT community’s mainstream clout,” by Andrew Hampp talks about the buzz being created by bands and artists who play gigs at gay clubs and have impacted the culture. Here is a playlist of songs and artists to celebrate Pride month.

here were a few years in the mid-’80s when one couldn’t go out for a cup of coffee without encountering Cyndi Lauper in one form or another. Her videos were playing constantly on MTV, her music was everywhere on the radio, and, best of all, children were even dressing up as Cyndi for Halloween. In retrospect, it was a Lauper-ish time but it was all over quite quickly; in fact, the period in the ultra-limelight didn’t even span the period covered by two album releases, which means that this follow-up to her…

The city of Rochester comes alive with music every summer with some great events that showcase a variety of bands and artists that are as diverse as the community. The 16th annual Party In The Park kicks off every Thursday evening from 5-10 PM for ten weeks starting on June 7 through August 9 at the Riverside Festival Site on the corner of Court Street and Exchange Boulevard across from the Blue Cross Arena. All concerts are FREE! The Big Rib BBQ & Blues Fest starts Thursday July 12 and continues through Sunday July 15: lunch, dinner and live music! Highland Bowl concert highlights include Wilco and Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad. Here’s a sampling…